Roche has entered into an exclusive collaboration and licensing agreement with Zealand Pharma.
Together, the pharmaceutical companies will co-develop and commercialise Zealand Pharma's amylin analog, petrelintide as a standalone therapy, a well as a combination of petrelintide and Roche's CT-388, an incretin asset.
Recent advancements in the understanding of how incretins work have showed that they have great potential in the treatment of obesity, a well as its numerous associated comorbidities.
Meanwhile, petrelintide — a long-acting, once-weekly amylin analog — is currently in Phase II clinical trials, with available clinical data suggesting it could become the best-in-class amylin monotherapy on the market if approved owing to its improved tolerability.
By combining petrelintide with Roche's lead candidate, CT-388, Roche hopes to expand its cardiovascular, renal and metabolic disease pipeline with tolerable and beneficial solutions.
Under the terms of the agreement, Zealand Pharma and Roche will co-commercialise petrelintide in the US and Europe, while Roche will have exclusive commercialisation rights across the rest of the globe.
Additionally, Zealand Pharma could become eligible for up to $5.3bn in milestone payments related to the initiation of Phase III trials and sales.
Roche will be solely responsible for the commercial manufacturing and supply of the combination.
Teresa Graham, CEO Roche Pharmaceuticals: “We hope this combination therapeutic will provide people living with obesity and related comorbidities a new treatment option," commented CEO of Roche Pharmaceuticals, Teresa Graham.
"We share the vision to develop petrelintide as a future foundational therapy. By combining petrelintide with our Pharmaceuticals portfolio and with our Diagnostics expertise in cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, we are aiming to transform the standard of care and positively impact patients’ lives.”
Adam Steensberg, President and CEO of Zealand Pharma added: “We are thrilled to announce this transformational partnership, aiming to maximise the full value of petrelintide to the benefit of people living with overweight and obesity."
"We consider Roche the ideal partner for Zealand Pharma. We strongly believe that petrelintide holds potential as a foundational therapy for weight management, addressing unmet medical needs among the majority of people living with overweight and obesity, both as stand-alone therapy and in combination with other agents."